Sakura's Satan
by Shikyo Kuranosai -Rebirth
Summary: Sakura has killed her parents to take their throne and title as Satan- along with taking the position as Master to the Tailed Beasts. Her bloodline black flames answer far more eagerly to her command than the Satan's before her.
1. Sakura is Satan

**Naruto and its characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

A young Sakura walked down the obsidian walkway, others off on both sides watching her intently. Reaching the large obsidian throne at the end of the walkway she looked up to see her father and mother smiling down at her, the blood red crowns on their heads glinting in the flames that danced out of the occasional crevice with the largest source being the deep crypt behind the throne. With a few words the ritual was begun by her father, the crowd coming in to circle around her and her family while continuing to give them all space. Her father stood, taking off both his and his wife's crown and merging them together, walking forward and placing the newly made crown on her so it rest above her brow. The deep crimson of the blood brought out the pastel pink hair that gave Sakura her name, and enhancing the bright red color of her eyes that was starting to give way to a forest green.

"Sakura, my daughter, and Queen of Hell!" her father announced, his wife coming over and linking onto his arm. Both watched their daughter with pride as she turned to the audience of devils that had come a bit closer to the now proclaimed Queen and gave them all a curtsey. Even though she had lived longer than most humans, Sakura retained the body of a young teenager. If she were to go to the human world most people would assume her to be 15 instead of 90.

Turning back to her parents, Sakura gave them a deep curtsey before she began to walk to them slowly. As if part of the ground, black flames shot out like giant earthen spikes to rupture through the hearts of Sakura's parents. The flames then wrapped around the bodies, tossing them into the flames held within the crypt behind the throne. Little Sakura continued to walk, and once she reached the throne she turned around, sitting upon the rough stone that characterized Hell. Her gaze drank in the sight of the fear on her subjects as they watched the black flames of Satan move to her command so easily, knowing that they would be spared of pity as she had done so with her own flesh and blood. Eagerly the all bowed down to her, accepting her as their Queen, and officially closing the ancient ritual.

Sakura was now Satan.

* * *

Satan looked at her advisor, dull jade eyes glancing over the devils assembled in front of her. All dressed in their best like the nobility they were, and yet none could catch her eyes. Turning back to her advisor she stated clearly for all in her presence to hear. "I will not marry any of them. Any more suitors that come I shall feed to Shukaku."

With a wave of her hand she dismissed them all, watching her advisor spring into action and shoo away all the suitors before leaving himself. Leaning forward slightly her hair fell into her face only to be pulled back by the black flames that so eagerly responded to their master. It was this connection that she held with her beloved flames that allowed her to become Queen at such a young age- for no Satan before her had so easily wielded the flames if the flames would allow themselves to be wielded at all. Feeling a familiar presence, Satan turned to the hallway leading to her private chambers to find a nine tailed fox coming her way. Smiling to the creature she gave her lap a pat and watched happily as the fox jumped into it and curled up into a ball.

Her tailed pets were also the pets of the previous Satan. They were officially known as the Tailed Beasts- created from the first Satan's demonic pet, Jūbi (the ten-tailed beast). Sadly, his beloved pet was met with a sage who managed to seal the first Satan's pet by splitting the chakra and creating the nine tailed beasts- Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyuki, and Kurama*.

"My beloved Kurama," Satan whispered, absently stroking the fox's fur, and certainly noticing how he responded by looking up at her.

"Sakura-sama, we are hungry. The others sent me to ask if we could go hunting on Earth," Kurama asked, showing only the utmost respect and hunger to eat the chakra of the humans occupying Earth.

Satan glanced down at the Kyuubi* and smiled softly. "Of course. Don't get caught by the humans, and certainly make sure everyone returns to me safely. I will not heal the others if they return harmed, and I will not save them if they allow themselves to be placed inside a possible jinchuriki like the sage had become."

Kurama nodded, jumping down to stroll back into Satan's private chamber. "Perhaps you should join us some time, Sakura-sama."

Satan nodded. "Perhaps later, but certainly not right now. They are starting to doubt my ability to rule without a partner, and I certainly don't want to appear as though I'm running away from them. I am Queen Sakura Haruno- Hell's Satan, and I will not have them thinking otherwise."

The Kyuubi nodded, and returned to his siblings to tell them of the good news and the price they had to pay.

**(882 words)**

_**A/N: I'm planning on leaving this a oneshot, unless of course I get some reviewers who are interested in the storyline and wish for me to make more chapters. I'm going to try a different method with this story, though. If I had to I'd label it as a bunch of oneshot chapters all pertaining to the same storyline, so that each chapter has a sort of conclusion that leaves you wanting more yet allows you to feel happy with the ending if I decided to abandon the story.**_

_***The tailed beasts:**_

_**1 tail- Shukaku / Ichibi**_

_**2 tail- Matatabi / Nibi**_

_**3 tail - Isobu / Sanbi**_

_**4 tail - Son Gokū / Yonbi**_

_**5 tail - Kokuō / Gobi**_

_**6 tail - Saiken / Rokubi**_

_**7 tail - Chōmei / Nanabi**_

_**8 tail - Gyūki / Hachibi**_

_**9 tail - Kurama / Kyūbi**_

_**10 tail - Jūbi**_


	2. Rescue Plan

**Naruto and its character belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

"Madara Uchiha, you will regret ever messing with me!" the Kyubi roared, making the earth below him vibrate. Charging at the ninja the fox soon found himself in Konoha- wreaking havoc and fighting Leaf ninja. Calming down for a moment he noticed the Yondaime staring up at him, performing the sealing technique that would trap him like his fellow tailed beasts were in a newborn host, making that person a jinchuriki against their will.

He could not allow that to happen. He still had to free his fellow beasts and return to Sakura in Hell. If not then he knew she'd come to save them, or perhaps she'd allow Madara to gather all of them to get Jubi back. He certainly wished it wouldn't' come to that, seeing as he and his siblings very much liked existing, but he didn't care now so long as she killed Madara before he attempted his plan of total control.

Kurama shifted impatiently inside his new cell, his sense open as he got used to his jinchuriki. Turned out the Yondaime sacrificed himself to seal him in the Yondaime's own kid.

'What a wonderful parent,' Kurama thought sarcastically to himself.

* * *

Satan watched stiffly as Kurama was sealed within a newborn child- the Yondaime's no less. The black flames in their crypt behind her soared to new heights- licking the ceiling and burning their way up through the earthen walls that created her palace. Her anger towards the humans only fed the flames, and had they not been limited to Hell's boundaries as long as she remained there, they would have surely gone to Earth and burnt everything to a crisp. However, sadly, Satan's flames would only be able to respond to her on Earth when the moon was full and the body of the Jubi was watching Earth from its prison.

She had been too lenient towards them- allowing them to be on the Earth far too often thus leading to their capture within the jinchuriki. She could only blame herself, as she had for the past years. When an old jinchuriki died naturally one of her pets would be released only to be sealed again. It frustrated her, and so she had made a plan to save them. First she would save her beloved Kurama. All she needed was to wait another few years. Then when he baby- Naruto- was around the age her body appeared to be, she would travel to Earth to retrieve her pets and slay the Uchiha who dared to lead the Kyuubi his containment. She would not allow some stupid human to gain as much power as she and the current God had, for then he would rise against them, and the last thing she wished to do was to join forces with angels to save her kind.

* * *

_15 years later_

Sakura dressed carefully, making sure her clothing would fit in with the clothing of the humans. She was to pass off as one of them. She would not reveal anything of herself other than her name and some obvious details. Sealing up her palace she glanced over her shoulder to watch her subjects. She walked out onto her stage with her black flames whipping violently around her. "My flames will watch and keep my rules. Anyone step out of line and I will know."

The subjects withered back, knowing the Queen's words to be true. With one last look at her kingdom she stepped through the portal to Earth, watching the scenery change to woodland.

Anbu walked into her room, noting that their Hokage hid her sake quickly. The Anbu captain sighed, and motioned for his team to bring forth the girl they had found. Tsunade eyed the pink hair and deep red crown placed above her brow, then the forest green eyes. "And who are you?"

"Sakura."

**(641 words)**

_**Thanks for the lovely reviews. Leave a review (anonymous or not), to let me know what you think.**_


	3. Memory Loss

**Naruto and its characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

"Sakura?" one of Tsunade's eyebrows rose noticeably. The girl in front of her certainly fit her name- what with her pink hair that resembled the petals of her namesake. Her green eyes held a spark of red that quickly left, leaving Tsunade curious as to if she had a bloodline. Perhaps the Sharigan with that red she glimpsed but only Itachi and Sasuke remained- both missing-nin. "No family name?"

Sakura shook her head. "I can only remember my first."

"So you've lost your memory? Then I guess it'd be useless to ask you what you were doing outside my village?" Tsunade sighed, her hand itching to grab her sake bottle stored away in her desk drawer. Anbu stood behind her, as well as behind Sakura, to restrain the girl if needed. Of course, being able to make sure she didn't drink an absurd amount of sake and gamble away a good portion of funds was an extra bonus of the anbu being there.

Sakura quickly shook her head, using her peripheral vision to note the details of the anbu. For one of them she caught a glimpse of silver hair from under the mask, surprising her at the possible age of the man. Her eyes remained locked with the Hokage's, making sure the busty woman didn't notice her taking in the surroundings before she finally decided how far the memory thing would go. She finally gave a small smile, shaking her head no quickly before locking eyes once more. "I'm here because I heard gossip about Konoha's Hokage being a legendary healer, so I thought to come here to see if you could help me."

Sakura's smile remained, but for a different reason than one would expect. She had created a split human personality to help make her human act more believable, and since her human self was newly created she would have no memories- especially since Sakura kept all her memories locked away in a hallway of locked doors protected by a steel door that only she had a key to that was covered by an illusion of a wall. Human Sakura would know nothing Satan Sakura knew, and would only retain what she would be receiving through the time Satan Sakura allowed the split personality to live. "Would you help me?"

Tsunade smiled softly at the pinkette and around her moved around her desk to put a hand on the small of the girl's back. With her other hand she motioned for the anbu to back down. "We'll be going to the hospital. Please call for Ibiki to meet us there."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," the head anbu answered, bowing before taking leave with his team.

Sakura allowed herself to be guided to the hospital and strapped into a chair made for the mentally insane. She listened as her human side struggled, and let the worry seep into her body- fidgeting against the straps as she looked pleadingly up to Tsunade, desperation oozing her voice. "What are you going to do?"

Tsunade looked calmly towards her, a little sadness showing through her eyes that Sakura picked up only through years of reading her subjects. "Forgive me, but we must make sure that you aren't lying. Ibiki is a torturer who will cause you a great deal of pain should your memory be false."

Sakura closed her eyes and smoothed out her breathing, biting back the human influence to calm down both of them. Once the torture began she would withdraw to the hidden crevices of her mind and allow her human self control.

* * *

"I'm here, Tsunada-sama. What do you want done?" Ibiki spoke, eyeing the pinkette he was to torture when a silver haired man stepped in.

Tsunade nodded in greeting to the man and finally focused on Ibiki. "She states to have lost her memory and heard that I am a healer. I would like you to confirm that such is true."

Ibiki nodded, squatting down in front of the girl as her eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of being hit like normal torture methods. He made a note of such and stood up, placing a hand on the girl's head and beginning his work.

* * *

Sakura laid in the blazingly white room- her eyes squinting at the brightness the room held with the moon's glow casted on it from the open window. Beneath her the mattress was bare for Human- as she had named her other self- had felt constricted by the thin sheets they had placed over her once Human had passed out from mental exhaustion. She smirked as she remembered the pleasant result as now she would be allowed freely in Konoha until her memory returned. Of course, Human had no previous memories to remember, so she would have plenty of time. Sitting up she picked up the sheets and wrapped them around herself in a towel fashion after dumping her hospital garb they had dressed her in. Finding her new outfit acceptable she turned to the candle on the night table and coaxed a flame on her hand. As a demon her elemental affinities naturally laid within fire and earth, so getting the flame to start on her extended pointer finger was no problem.

Gently she placed the small flam on the candle- the fire burning stronger with proper fuel. Pulling a bit of chakra from Human and mixing it with her powers as Satan she fed the flame and watched it turn to a brilliant black. Sakura then scooped the flame with her hands, feeding it more of the mixture through her palms as images of her throne room came into focus with every flicker of the flames. With the moon at its highest without all of its glory this would be the best she could get, and the fact that it was waning meant she would need to work relatively quickly on ensuring her own place so she could return the night of the new moon to her realm.

The flames settled in her hands comfortably, letting her know everything was fine, and at the same time they shot tendrils of pleasure through her to let her know her subjects were indeed remaining loyal as they went through their prayers and sacrifices as scheduled.

Satisfied with the quick checkup she withdrew the mixture that fed the flames and smothered the remaining flame with her hands. Standing up she placed an ear against the floor and could hear the vibrations of the lone guard outside her door shifting his feet. Remembering that humans had chakra she tore as much as she could from Human and infused it into the bed. With only enough left to keep her other self alive within her and her own magic she silently perches herself on the window- memorizing the streets and position of the moon in the sky. With a deep breath to calm down Human she jumped, landing numbly on her feet on a strip of pavement behind a vendor's stall.

"Oh wow, that was a pretty cool trick," a male voice erupted from behind her, surprising herself as well as Human and causing her to jump. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki- the next Hokage. Who are you?"

Sakura released the breath she was holding as she placed a hand over her erratically beating heart. Turning her head she found her Kyubi's container as his name had notified her. She scowled, then turned it into a pout when she noticed the spark in the jinchuriki's eyes as he looked her over. "Don't scare me like that!"

Naruto flashed an apologetic smile, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry, it's just that I haven't seen you around town before an with skills that you made me believe you were an intruder."

Sakura frowned and shook her head, placing her hand out for a handshake. "I am Sakura. It's nive to meet you, Uzumaki-san. As for my skills I'm not quite sure myself what happened. I was absolutely terrified as I looked at how high up I was, but after I landed safely I can't but see life in a new light."

Her stomach growled, making Naruto grin. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Sakura-chan! If you don't mind I could take you to a great place to grab a bite."

Sakura nodded eagerly, glad to receive silence from her other self as Human imagined the prospect of dining with the appealing male in front of her. Of course, Sakura certainly wouldn't allow Human any of the indecencies she was conjuring as she was never the demon for romance. However, she certainly wouldn't mind becoming friends with the jinchuriki. Unlike the ninja, as Satan she could easily remove her Kyubi from his jinchuriki without killing his container. In fact, she had a feeling that once she was done saving her pets she might bring him to Hell so she could have at least a single friend in her world of demons.

**(1,492 words)**

_**Thanks for the reviews. Seeing as the story has been getting love so far I decided to come out with an extra long chapter. Please leave me some more lovely reviews!**_

**Yuuki-Hime 2097****- _I'm glad you like the story. I hope I can continue to please you and my other readers._**


	4. Inner Sakura

**Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Sakura watched Naruto slurp up the noodles quickly, allowing Human's giggle to come out. The boy's head snapped up, eyes wide at the sound of her laugh. He gave her his big goofy grin before he decided to become serious. "Ne, Sakura-chan, what exactly where you doing in the hospital?"

Sakura's eyes dimmed and she lowered her face to study the suddenly interesting bowl that had held her ramen. She had finished it around the time Naruto how devoured his fourth bowl. "I lost my memory, so I came to Hokage-sama for help. All I can remember from before was that my name is Sakura."

Naruto scowled, stood, and wrapped his arms around her, surprising both sides of Sakura. 'He's too kind for his own good.'

'_Who the fuck cares? A sexy guy is hugging us!"'_

Sakura's eyes widened as she realized Human had developed her own voice in the front of her mind. She wouldn't have though it possible, but she had mistakenly allowed Human to exit her designated room- she had allowed Human to become too much of its own entitiy.

'_Oi, Outer Sakura, hot guy speaking to us at 12 o'clock!'_

'Outer?'

"Sakura, are you ok? Do you need me to take you back to the hospital?" Naruto's words suddenly seemed ten times louder in her head and she quickly answered with ahead shake for no. "Ah, aren't you supposed to be wearing hospital garb if you've been admitted into the hospital?"

Sakura blushed- she blushed without the influence of her Inner. "A-ah, w-well. I had decided to ditch it for my- sheets- instead."

'_Ooh, are you so embarrassed that you could barely say sheets without mumbling, Sakura?'_

'Don't use that fucking smug tone with me!' She could feel Inner roll her eyes at how quick Sakura was to snap, which Sakura only knew helped prove that she was embarrassed.

'_Sure, whatever. Just get back Hottie's attention from his friends.' _Sakura rolled her eyes inwardly at her other personality. Once she got back she'd have to work on getting rid of the schizophrenia before it fully developed. She blushed when Naruto pulled her out of the ramen stand only to be brought back to where they first met. Before she could protest he had picked her up as though she were his newly wedded bride and jumped up to her window with relative ease before setting her back down on her bed and disappearing quickly. The guard came in, his face flushing when he noticed her garb on the ground only to be disappointed when he found her wrapped in the sheets.

"Is everything ok here, Sakura-san? I felt a different chakra signature come in," the guard asked, his voice signaling he thought her to be conspiring with an enemy. She in turn gave him a disarming smile as best as she could since her Inner wouldn't help- no, Inner was busy being a pervert as she studied every last detail of the man and listed down to Sakura the imperfections compared to the blonde they were with earlier.

"Yes, everything's fine. Some guy came in here through the open window thinking he could hide in here until he saw me. He jumped back as quickly as he came in," Sakura lied easily, her eyes warily focusing back onto the window. "Can you send someone to Hokage-sama? I would feel more comfortable in actual clothing rather than the hospital garb or bed sheets. I would like better coverage in case some pervert were to come in…"

The guard nodded, not noticing that Sakura had just insinuated him to be a pervert. Her Inner smirked at this, obviously being more open than Sakura herself. _'Stupid bastard. Naruto would have noticed we were calling him a pervert and then he'd blush cutely and rub his neck while he apologized somewhat profusely.'_

Sakura couldn't help but agree with her Inner, only realizing what she was doing after Inner mentioned it. When he came back with Tsunade Sakura had long since closed the window. The Legendary Sannin placed some clothing on the bed for Sakura and immediately turned to dismiss the guard. After a few hand seals she was satisfied she could speak to Sakura without anyone interfering or overhearing. This just proved to Sakura how much the Sannin still doubted her.

"Thank you for the clothes," Sakura said softly as she let the sheets fall and made a grab for the clean clothing.

"Just wait. Before you change lay down. I want to try a quick session to see if I can get anything from your mind. I have someone who's clan specializes in mind techniques. You can cover yourself with the sheets," Tsunade ordered the pinkette, making the pinkette doubt her earlier analyzation.

'_Obviously we wouldn't want some shit-ass ugly guard- or guards- walking in on us when we're naked. She's trying to make us more comfortable, _Inner stated as though it was obvious.

'Shut up, Inner.'

Inner remained quiet, only popping back up when she knew she'd have to greet the guest their mind would be having. Platinum blonde hair turned near- silver in the moonlight that poured through the glass pane. Blue eyes sparkled with a certain cheer, but turned sharp when she turned to calculate Sakura. "Ok Forehead, this is a technique that'll need a direct shot, so no squirming. We'll both be left defenseless so Tsunade-sama will be watching over us- understand? By the way, I'm Ino Yamanaka."

Sakura gave a quiet yes, and soon she found herself wandering the darkness in the canvas of her mind. Not too far off she could make light, but if she were to follow it she knew she'd run into her Inner and the girl. Instead she closed her eyes and followed the dirt path only her feet could find- taking it the back way to the hallway of her carefully guarded memories. She slipped in- quickly covering back over the entrance as she heard Ino and Inner approach. The Yamanaka child was rather boisterous and loud- much like her Inner- but right now her Inner was being uncharacteristically silent.

'Playing the part of a girl who doesn't know who she is perfectly,' Sakura stated, exiting her hallway after the two had long passed. While Inner and Ino conversed, Sakura would spend her time finding out how Human escaped and eventually turned into Inner.

* * *

Sakura's breathing evened out as Ino finally pulled out of her body to report to Tsunade. Ino was slightly bruised, as was Sakura, which surprised the busty Hokage.

"She has one hell of a punch. It seems that even though her memory is gone she can call upon her old abilities- or at least her chakra. I wouldn't be surprised if she was a kunoichi before losing her memories- and strength wise I believe she could rival even you, Tsunade-sama," Ino reported. "Also, it seems as though she had a split self as she openly described another personality- she could possibly have schizophrenia or multiple personalities. I only found her, but I felt as though we passed another one at some point as we walked around, but I didn't come in direct contact, so it's possible the others still remember."

Ino shook her head. "We'd have to find what triggers her other personalities."

Tsunade allowed the knowledge to seep in, mulling over a few other questions. Out of all of them, one stuck out the most. "Is it safe enough to leave her in a place of her own?"

Ino frowned. "Although I hate to say it, she should stay with me for a while. It'd be best so that if a dangerous personality comes out that I can deal with it. I also think we should get her training so that she can reawaken all her old abilities and possibly lead to awakening other memories. That way if she never recovers her memories she can at least put her abilities to work as a kunoichi for Konoha."

Tsunade gave a nod. "Wake her up and get her dressed. She'll stay with you officially for the time being, If a dangerous personality comes out deal with it- and if it proves to difficult hand her over to Ibiki so she could serve him as practice in his expertise. If not and she proves safe enough report to me and we'll move her to her own place."

On the bed beside them going unnoticed due to the discussion was the small twitch at the corners of Sakura's mouth going up before settling back into a relaxed and emotionless line.

**(1,435 words)**

_**Recently took a trip to escape the heat. Did some crabbing and fishing- and even played some horse shoes. I was particularly favored by luck this week, 'cause I caught five crabs that I could keep and managed to get three horseshoes in three games. During my free time I was typing away on my iPod for the next few chapters of this story and Innocent Noah.**_


	5. Team Asuma

**Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Sakura looked out over the balcony of Ino's home. She had been staying there for two months already, with sessions from the Yamanaka every day for the first month and then every other day for the second month. Sakura and the Yamanaka fought daily, but it was never anything past verbal jabs. Sakura never took any of the things Ino said to heart, and if what Inner said was right she could honestly say Ino was her first true friend in the human world. Naruto had been gone on a mission after that night, so Sakura had not been able to become true friends with him. She remained in Ino's home reading about chakra and other related things. Seeing as Ino was in training to become a medic she was occasionally taught some medical ninjutsu by the female- or more commonly after training Ino would practice healing her injuries.

"Tomorrow my team will join in your training. Your chakra potential is great seeing as you have a large chakra reserve, but the thing is that you can't control it well," Ino stated in an I'm-Mightier-Than-You tone.

Sakura bristled, eyes narrowing. Perhaps she'd teach Inner how to use chakra so that when she relinquished control her Inner would kick Ino and her team's asses. There was no way she'd be beat. She had spent all of her childhood building up her physical abilities without the use of the powers that blood brought her. Then, during the ceremony she had gained one of the most dangerous weapons alive- Satan's black flames. As one of the older and more pure family lines, Sakura could control magic and had magic reserves rather than the chakra reserves of the lower demons. In fact, chakra was the child of magic and rules- created by the Satans over time to punish demons. Sakura's parents had been the ones to meet with the current God, and eventually give human's chakra to protect themselves so they wouldn't get in the way of either side's jobs and occasional war. So they had also given Sakura some chakra to practice with before her magic had awakened. Inner Sakura had claimed that chakra and built it up when she was created- and thus perfected her human alias. However, unlike Outer, Inner didn't have absolute perfection with chakra. It took her a few tried before she got the amount right.

'_You're going to teach me some techniques?_'

'Shut up, Inner.'

'_That's like telling yourself to shut up, so why don't you?_'

'Who do you think her team is?'

'_Hopefully hot males._'

Sakura cut off her Inner almost immediately before her other self went on a rant about hot males and then to Naruto. That only brought up memories of Kurama and her hatred to Madara. That then filled the room with murderous intent- which wouldn't help make Ino believe Sakura harmless to the village. Sakura sighed; her life was so complicated ever since the damned Uchiha. She had gotten her revenge by giving some demon power to the Uchiha heir when he was born, and when the time came she planted in the idea that the Uchihas should be slayed by the heir in the elder's heads. The Uchihas were naturally power greedy, so it didn't take anything for her to get the Uchihas to plan a coup. She knew that Itachi would find no other way to solve this problem with his loyalty to Konoha not being questioned- and in the end the prodigy had left with Madara Uchiha to join the Akatsuki. She knew where the prodigy was, and thus had finished the mini plan of making Madara so much easier to locate.

Her smile would easily put the Cheshire Cat's to shame. Now she was beginning training with other members of Konoha. While this wasn't planned it easily fit into the threads and would actually make it easier to make a name for herself before leaving with Kurama to go to the Akatsuki. She would remove her pet from Naruto without even the blonde noticing anything was different.

Inner's chakra flew to her fingers as she massaged her face to force it from the pleasure she had in this plan to an emotionless mask. It had become somewhat of a game to her, and she was certainly going to be winning after her next few moves.

-_break_-

Sakura laid down on the couch, knowing Ino would be back in a few hours after finishing her shift at the hospital. If she was to train Inner she'd do it in the expanse of her mind where Inner's chakra wouldn't actually be depleted- which in turn would allow Sakura to break down Inner until the personality got things right. She'd give her human self intense demon training.

-_break_-

Inner stretched on the field she was led to by Outer. She knew it would be intense, and it would be draining for her physically and mentally. In the depths of Sakura's mind, time passed by more slowly.

-_break_-

Ino came inside wary of her house guest. When she found said house guest asleep on the couch she sighed and beckoned Shikamaru and Chouji in, who were then followed in by Asuma. "Be quiet, she's sleeping right now."

"Why are we here, Ino?" Chouji asked, having to refrain from reaching into his bag of chips and thus making noise. Sakura's eyes snapped open, flew to Ino, and then snapped back shut, the girl snuggling back into the couch she had sprawled herself across. "Welcome back, pig."

Ino's eyebrows furrowed, and the veins of her forehead bulged. "What?"

"Welcome back, pig," Sakura restated, eyes still closed as she ignored the deadly aura trying to burn through her by the blonde's glare, her head slightly tilting. "Or would you prefer boar*?"

Ino's body was trembling with rage at this point. Chouji had back up, munching furiously on his chips to prevent them from being lost in Ino's explosion. Shikamaru's shadow was stretched towards his blonde teammate- ready to paralyze her once she exploded. Asuma, knowing the lazy genius had her under control, prepared to take down Sakura in case she jumped into action.

"We're friends, aren't we? That's why you call me Forehead, because it shows endearment, right? So it'd only make sense I get a proper nickname for you," Sakura stated, eyes open as she watched Ino immediately deflate. She gave a small smile to her hostess.

Ino shook her head vigorously with her ponytail whipping back and forth. Sakura had calculated how long her hair should be for her age, and noted that at some point her hostess had cut her hair. She frowned at Ino's rejection of their friendship. Surprised by the wide smile that adorned Ino's face suddenly. She was caught off guard by Ino's next words. "No, we're best friends, Sakura."

It was the first time she called her by her name rather than Forehead. It made Inner smile, so she let an equally big smile onto her face. "So who are they, Pig?"

"They're my team, Asuma, Chouji, and Shikamaura," Ino answered, her vein bulging slightly at the nickname although not as strongly as earlier.

Sakura stood and gave them a disarming smile. Instead of introducing herself she turned to Ino. "So they will be joining tomorrow?"

"Shikamaru and Chouji will, but I'm going to be assessing you. We need to know what rank you'd be, and your areas of strength and weakness."

Sakura's Cheshire smile came back for a split second- only Shikamaru catching and noting it down for dissection later under his brain when he'd be cloud watching.

**(1,270 words)**


	6. A Surprising Start

**Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Inner shifted uncomfortably on her feet, very aware of her other observers. Outer had pointed out that she should feel special, seeing as the Hokage was watching this match herself when she could be doing more important paperwork. '_It's a good thing you trained me, Outer._'

Outer had remained silent since they had woken up. She had given Inner the reigns to the body, proclaiming that she had taught her all that she would need, and that success or failure was up to her now. It had set her nerves aflame, but she was determined to excel now. Ino had supplied her with proper kunoichi gear, but the material felt awkward on her skin. It just assured her that Outer wasn't a kunoichi.

"Don't worry, Forehead, we'll be going easy on you," Ino assured her, causing her anger at being considered _weak_ to a near boiling point. She was anything but weak; they were all the weak ones, especially compared to Outer. She took a calming breath, giving them a quick nod to show she was ready. Almost immediately she started the hand signs ingrained in her memory, and upon completion she left in a swirl of black cherry blossoms. She knew absolutely nothing about their battle tactics, so she'd need to spend a few minutes observing them. Perhaps send in a decoy of some sort, or set a few traps. It was through this thought process that she developed her plan. Well that, and watching the fat one, Chouji, eat through his chips.

She abandoned them, heading through the forestry while keeping in mind her location. Soon enough she found the item that would be the start of her plan. She took the berries, placing one to her lips and checking to make sure it was safe. The last thing she wanted was for it to be a naturally poisonous berry, it might conflict with the concoction she was making with the plants she had found. She began making her way back to where Team Asuma should be, and since she wasn't feeling any affects yet she figured it'd be more then safe enough to use on Chouji.

Wary as to her surroundings she applied the slightest amounts of chakra to act as an adhesive so the berries wouldn't just roll off where she placed them on the surrounding bushes. Team Asuma had left the clearing much to her pleasure.

She worked quickly, rolling the berries in her concoction and placing them on the bushes. Once she had gotten a decent amount done she set off on the ground, scouring the nearby area for a tree to suit her needs. She was surprised to come across it so quickly, but then again Fire Country was known for its great deal of towering trees. It was one of the reasons the ninja of Konoha were so talented in tree running. She maneuvered through the thick tangle of roots, and then she moved them to provide an ample roof with enough room for her to squeeze in with another body. She climbed back out and set to covering it with small branches that had broken off by interweaving them like a net. Then she shook the trees as best as she could, picking up the extra leaves that now covered the ground and providing ample coverage for her "cage".

Her head snapped up at the chakra flare. Chouji must have eaten one of the berries, much to her delight. They wouldn't be inclined to leave their teammate, which meant that they would be far weaker. If she attacked they'd have to hide him out of the way or block her attacks. She made her way back to the clearing quickly, analyzing the situation. Shikamaru would move likely be her greatest problem due to his intelligence. She had to be especially careful with him.

"Sakura come out!" Asuma called out in a futile attempt. Inner ignored him, staying in the higher branches where her thankfully light weight was just barely supported by the thin branches. Breathing deeply she did her best not to stir the leaves in front of her face. She was at a rather large disadvantage when hiding due to her pink hair.

'_You should have covered it with some mud in that pond we had passed earlier,_' Outer scolded her. For the most part she had been hanging back, analyzing her alter ego at work and storing tips on the edge of her tongue.

Inner brushed off her remark. Ino had a strong mind technique that she would not be able to defend against, but if her technique was to miss the blonde gossiper would be left vulnerable. Then there was the other two, Shikamaru and Asuma. She had no clue what their styles were, so she'd need to find a way to coax them into exposing it.

'_Have you already forgotten your basic techniques?_' Outer scolded her. Inner immediately ran through the basic jutsus Outer had taught her. Her mind soon focused on one specific technique that just about any genin knew, and if she separated her chakra so that it fit her reduced reserves then she could study the other two's fighting style while remaining out of danger.

Her hands flew through the signs, and soon a perfect replica stood in front of her. Outer hummed in their mind with approval at the great lengths Inner went through to get every last detail correct. She unmasked just the chakra that she was flooding her clone with, and sat back as her clone took off to fight the group.

She was shocked when her clone was abruptly stopped as if frozen in place. She was nowhere near them and yet she was immobilized. Was it possible that they had trapped the clearing when she wasn't paying attention?

'_No, look. There are no strings, and there isn't even a hint of chakra in the surrounding air. That leaves it out to be an expertly crafted genjutsu or a special clan jutsu,' _Outer pointed out, already pinpointing who was behind the frozen clone.

Asuma was quick to pummel through the clone with one of his chakra enhanced trench knives. Inner frowned at speed with which they dealt with her delicately crafted clone, but it was before Asuma struck her clone that she was able to catch sight of the shadows pulling away. That certainly was not a Yamanaka technique, and since Chouji was incapacitated she immediately pinned the technique on the Nara. Asuma wasn't even supposed to be a part of this spar, but then again, seeing as she did pull a fast one on them when they weren't supposed to know anything he must have been quick to join in case she was to prove she actually was a spy.

**(1,131 words)**


End file.
